I will show you a Paradise without any beaches or expensive things. People know as Eje Cafetero, it is a place where the most popular thing is the coffee. In this place there are three important cities Armenia, Pereira and Manizales. This region was declared a world heritage site in 2011. However this wonderful place had a natural disaster in 1999, it had an earthquake that affected three cities and produced the death of thousands of people, some people died in the earthquake and other died because the people fought to get food or water. Armenia was the most destroyed because of natural disaster, but the Colombian people and people around the world helped them, and they were able rebuild the city. (Wikipedia) After Armenia was named “la ciudad milagro”, and if you are going around, you may see some places that were not rebuilt, because some people decided to leave this city and move to other places.

Armenia is the first city in the Eje Cafetero, its weather is warn but moderated at nights sometimes is a little cold. Relaxing is one thing that you can do in Armenia, this city is very peaceful and it has a lot nature, parks and museum. If you want to avoid the noise of the big city, this place offers the most relaxing activities for you, starting with the parks around the city where you can stay in touch with the nature and animals. Another important reason for traveling to Eje Cafetero is you can stay in a hotel or an ecohotel, the last is a hotel outside the city in ancient or colonial houses, this type of hotel has all the services that you need to relax and feel comfortable. The first activity that you should make is to visit the park around the city is the Parque Nacional del Café, it is in Montenegro, Quindío 15 minutes away from the city, this park get some mechanical games like roller coasters, karts and cable car, also it has some attractions about the coffee and the history of the region where you could learn about the coffee and to explore the history of this amazing place. (Parque Nacional del Café) Another amazing place that you should visit is Panaca, in this park there are different activities, it is a kind of big farm where you can get in touch with animals. For example cows, horses, pigs, buffalos, ostriches etc. (Panaca) Moreover if you want you can stay in the houses around it, there are a lot colonial houses where you can accommodate and you do not have worry about eating a delicious food, because it has different dishes that you can try like a bandeja paisa, it has rice, patacones, avocado, egg, sausage, greaves and ripe bananas. This plan is very relaxing.

Also in the Eje Cafetero there is another beautiful city, it is Pereira a place with some things to do and cultural places. Pereira is hotter and bigger than Armenia, with amazing places around it. For example the hot spring on Santa Rosa de Cabal, it is on Santa Rosa de Cabal, Risaralda and the hot springs are 20 minutes away from Pereira and 45 minutes away from Manizalez, in this place you can relax and have a good time, if you prefer in this place there are rooms and cabins where you can stay if you do not want to return to the other city (Termales). Another place that you need to know is downtown and the Bolivar Desnudo sculpture; it is a statue of Simon Bolivar riding his horse. Likewise it has a zoo its name is Matecaña Zoo, it has a different kind of animal like mammals, herps, arachnids and birds (Zoologico de Pereira ). Besides Pereira has a thing that is one of the most known of the city, it is a viaduct, a bridge that joins Pereira with Dosquebradas town, and you can see the most part of the city and enjoy the beautiful view.

The last city is Manizalez, a beautiful place on the mountains, its weather is a little cold sometimes is warm. The most important activity is the Manizalez Fair; it is just once in the year it is in January, this fair is visited for thousands of people, because it has a bullfighting fair, International reign of the fair, concerts and parades (Feria de Manizalez). You should be here in this time of the year, because it is wonderful the people share with other people that they do not know and they will make you feel as a family, moreover you will be able to take part of the activities that will carry out in the fair, because most of the activities are free. Also you could find other activities around the city. For example you get to the Ruiz snowcapped mountain and enjoy a time in the snow and climb the mountain, this place is a park named Parque Nacional de los Nevados, it has 58.300 hectares and it is on three departments Quindío, Caldas and Risaralda, in this wonderful park you can do a lot activities such as mountaineering, fishing, hiking trails, hot springs of the Ruiz and Gualí falls (Colombia Travel).

All in all Eje Cafetero has some advantages for example, you can choose different activities like relaxing in the hot springs on Santa Rosa de Cabal, entertaining on parque del café or Panaca and extreme sports on parque de los nevados. Nowadays in this place there are activities for everybody and the weather is good on every city, consequently you never will be bored in this place and you will wish to come back to Eje Cafetero. Finally you will notice this paradise with delicious food and some different dishes and I am sure that you will feel like staying at home, because the people is very friendly and you will be happy about enjoying the most entertained story in your life. Let me show you this paradise.

Colombian people and foreigners hardly ever explore places inside the country to get fun or to learn about cultures from the past. In a traditional way, our country promotes touristic places because they have different activities to enjoy, for example Cartagena. In that city, people can enjoy the historical center, the contact with the nature through the ocean and beaches, and some areas for shopping and nightlife. Also, Santa Marta has a beautiful natural park and this park is called Tayrona’s Park. It is famous because you can rest at the same time that you know about the Tayrona’s culture. Consequently, those coastal cities are famous around the world but you never hear about inside cities or states like Huila, Tolima or Boyacá. However, those places have a lot of possibilities to entertain different groups of people like families, friends or companies and additionally, those places possess similar locations to do related activities. In this opportunity, I want to invite you to know the Park San Agustin in Huila only if you would like to try new experiences on culture, history and nature in a very economical way.

The architecture into the historical districts was important and this is one of some reasons to visit the Park of San Agustin because people from this culture were able to create techniques to develop and adapt the terrain around them. First of all, people from San Agustin constructed some platforms with soil from the same area; they called them “mesitas”. In those places were located some wonderful statues according to the meaning that they wanted to express. In addition, they used those embankments and roads for funerary purposes or transport theirs houses, animals or general things during the time in this place. Creating those structures was not easy because they did not have a lot of tools or technology to get them. However, they were able to get holes to four meters from height. Park Of San Agustin exhibits these astonishing natural complexes without restriction and it is important now for the perfection that they could get, especially all the knowledge about hydraulic engineering and the importance of water into theirs customs, and is important because people from San Agustin got advances about construction systems, and nowadays, people continue applying some techniques acquired during the past.

Furthermore, you will find the most important reason to visit that place: the meaning of sculptures discovered from San Agustin culture. In 1995, UNESCO declared San Agustin’s park like a “Managing Cultural World Heritage”, but do you know why? There are a lot of statues representing concepts for believes and convictions about lifestyle in the pre-hispanic age. Just as expected, each symbol shows all the traditions about the important things around them. For instance “El Partero” is a mysterious sculpture but some experts have theories about the meaning of it. For example, the most common explanation is the process of birth of children in their culture; also, the statue is oriented at the east, representing the starts of life. Perhaps, the most attractive sculpture is “La Fuente del Lavapatas” It has a lot of figures about all the things around them like animals, people and traditions. In this monument, there is a kind of labyrinth carved into the stones and water circuits to all the paths in it. Likewise, experts say that the piece of stone possibly was used to make religious ceremonies.

Finally, it is important to know about the prices to get a tour into the park. When you travel to tourist places, you usually spend a lot of money since you have to book the hotel, pay all the cost about transporting yourself from place to place, and the fees to enter the main attractions. On the contrary, we know that people often try to find economic expeditions and most probably this park offers a convenient option for visitors who want to save money. The government from Colombia, through the Culture Minister has proposed standard prices to visit the park. If you are from San Agustin town, you can do the tour for free, but if you bring your children, you have to pay around $ 2.5 and adults pay around $ 10 per person. Eventually, when people make groups from companies or institutional groups, they obtain a discount, paying less money, only $ 5 per person. Other characteristic to acquire the best experience in this magnificent place is camping near to the park, considering in Huila there are special areas such as Tatacoa’s Desert in which is common to find people camping areas to enjoy all of the landscape around.

In conclusion, it is a good idea if you decide to try new plans touring in Colombia even though you have to take into account some extra recommendations to enjoy walking through this place. Basically, it is important to be healthy. You will walk some kilometers in different lands and this is part of the nature surrounding the park. In fact, you would like to change your ideas for vacations and try to do different activities, you could do things out of the ordinary, no matter how much time you can spend going over all the place, you should travel to Huila and take a tour inside The Park of San Agustin. This place has different likelihoods to offer entertainment to people of all ages. Amusing places, perfect landscape, taking out all the stress in an unusual way and saving some money are influential reasons to focus on your new destiny. Possibly, you will fall in love of this place to the point that you will be eager to come back again. There are few of the reasons that you should get this place and in my opinion, the most important incentive is to know and learn about our ancestors, all the inheritance and culture from them considering the time in which they lived.

There are a lot of wonderful destinations in the world to go and those places offer different activities to live unforgettable moments. But, I believe that Colombia can offer many advantages at the same time. According to the Guide of Travel of Lonely Planet Publications, the essence of Colombia is landscape with beauty, wonderful and fascinating sightseeing and authentic biodiversity. Furthermore, this South American country has a wide range of ecotourism activities and possibility to practice extreme sports. And the same publication mentions that “It is an easy country to fall in love with, and many travelers do. It may well become the favorite country in South America” (1)

One of the most amazing places of Colombia that you should visit when traveling to this country, which offers those characteristics, is The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy. This fascinating place named Chita or Güican has the biggest glacier of Colombia and it is considered one of the most beautiful places of the world by the American diary The New York Times in 2009.

The web site Colombia.travel mentions that the Sierra is a chain of over twenty five snow peaks along an extension of just thirty kilometers and includes ten towns of departments of Boyacá, Casanare y Arauca in the eastern Andes Mountain. The Sierra has the variety of weathers, from rain-forest to snowfalls and it is possible to admire mountains, moors, lagoons, and the forests among the snow peaks.

Acording to Boyaca Siete Dias and The New York Times newspapers, the most important attractions are Ritacubas, Pan de Azúcar, El Castillo y el Púlpito del Diablo and other attractions are the lagoons Los verdes, Grande de la Sierra, La Isla, La Plaza and El Avellanal. In such a way that traveling around of The Sierra means to know touristic attractions and to enjoy variety of towns and its cultures, and weathers and the landscape.

Another important reason to travel to Colombia and visit The Sierra Nevada of Cocuy is the Ecotourism for relaxing and enjoying of the nature. The Ecotourism allows the preservation of natural environment and culture. The Sierra is more attractive for tourists that prefer natural and relaxing places and according to another article of The Tiempo newspaper, now over fifteen 15.000 tourists at year arrive at the country attracted for the nature beauty of this amazing place. And Trip Advisor claims that The Sierra Nevada of Cocuy is qualified like excellent and is the second option between the 30 natural attractions of department Boyacá in Colombia.

Wikipedia mentions that the Sierra has been denominated one of the areas protects by The Ministerio del Medio Ambiente through of the System of Parks in Colombia and his goals are to protect and preserve areas with exceptional values for National Heritage. Thus promoting the ecotourism in Colombia. This wonderful place has wide offer of adventures activities:

Ecological walks

Camping and Extreme Camping in the different lagoons, mountains and perpetual snow

Trekking of adventure in the routes of the Saw Nevada

Fishing

Climb in Rock and Snow

Cavalcades (6)

According to the site Colombia.travel, The Sierra has been a favorite destination of international and Colombian mountaineers and climbers and The Sierra is the ideal place for lovers of rock, ice, and snow, and fans of hiking and ca mping. And the web site diplomacyandforeignaffairs, the topography of Colombia includes adventure sports in its tourism and The Sierra is a unique opportunity in Colombia to practice because it offers all the alternatives to practice these extreme sports from high mountains, valleys, plains, lakes, mountains and rivers.

Finally it is one place that you should not miss when you travel to Colombia, because it offers the most amazing possibilities to enjoy of great and fascinating landscapes with its exotic fauna and flora that your eyes should see. In addition this beautiful and mysterious place will put your physical capacities to the test, a unique experience that you will want to repeat.

In my opinion Cartagena is one of the most amazing places in Colombia. If you are a traveler you must visit and learn about its history, its architecture and the quality of people who live in this city. Not only Colombians say it is the best city, also important tourist guides admit this, like: Tour guide “Frommer’s” recommends Cartagena as one of the 12 most important destinations in the world to visit.

It’s important to note that Cartagena has a unique and amazing architecture
as the castle “san Felipe de Barajas” and the walls of Cartagena, these monuments are considered World Heritage by UNESCO, that states in his first article the conservation of national monuments by its age and beauty.

The city attracts important personalities, like: actors, directors, presidents and many more. And if for many of these reasons are not enough, the food may be a reason for you to visit this city, because in the city prepared dishes with seafood like: seafood casseroles, soups, fish dishes as well as other egg arepas, the sausages, carimañolas, the higadote, the mote of cheese, rice with coconut and seafood.

For visitors, the tourism authorities divided Cartagena to provide a complete tour of all tourist attractions. Cartagena is brown, blue, green, pink, purple, orange, white, yellow and red. This division was confirmed by the main tourist guides like Frommer’s.

Coffee in its historic center, its walls and bulwarks; blue by the bright sky and sea kissing the beaches; green for ecological reserves in the vicinity and the splendor of the islands of Rosario and Baru; fuchsia by multiple events developed during the year as the Classical Music Festival, the Hay Festival, the Festival of La Popa and the Virgin of La Candelaria.

Cartagena is purple because it is an ideal destination for shopping, whether famous designer clothing, crafts and jewelry, it is Orange because the fabulous food offered, white and black for the joy that flows at night in their party places, in all her 16 squares, yellow by the convention center and hotels, that are important for large events and finally, Cartagena is red for the hiking and horseback riding of love visitors.

Wait no more for a unique city that fall in love.

You can visit cartagena with his family, his girlfriend, or one second honeymoon.

If you come to Colombia, you cannot lose the opportunity to try delicious and nutritive “Arepas Colombianas ” which it can be eaten at any time with a hot drink, when you are here, you should ask for this typical dish in our Country.

Today in Latin America the corn is an important base of the gastronomy from many countries like Mexico, Argentina, Panama, Venezuela and Colombia. The Corn is used to make bread, arepas, cakes, tortillas, tamales, empanadas, donuts, and Hallacas, also is used to make drinks like corn chicha is also used in soups like ajiaco, stews, and masamorras.

We the Colombians accompany our breakfast or any food in the day with a delicious Colombian arepas, contributing to our nutritional diet, in my opinion I think that the arepas give added value to any food, are delicious when they are alone or when they are in our typical Colombian dishes like bandeja paisa, the Santander dishes, tamales, lechona, giving a different flavor, exquisite, irresistible at palate, for this reason it is important not forget that the arepas are important part of this authentic gastronomic paradise of our country.Its nutritional value is very important in the Colombian culture because they are made from corn which has carotene, vitamin B , potassium, iron and phosphorus. [1]

Arepa was nominated like a cultural symbol in Colombia by Semana magazine[2], likewise, according to this site The arepa is the culture dish in gastronomy from Colombia, this site states that the arepas are the most common snack for Colombian people, consumed at any time of day, you can buy it at any stores from our country also in Venezuela and Panama.

We look forward to have you here enjoying this delicious typical dish, accompanied with a hot chocolate, a cup of coffee, meat, egg or cheese and a nice environment with the hospitality of the Colombian people and to know more the gastronomy our beautiful country.

When you travel around the world there is something that identifies each country is the food, it is the image of the culture and its lifestyle; sometimes when people visit a country the first thing that you want to know is the food critics opinion, for that reason you always expect to have a good impression of food.

Nowadays, There is in Colombia a wide range of traditional recipes, it is identified by regions, but there are some dishes that you can find throughout the our country “national cuisine”. Marian Blazes says that “Colombian cuisine is delicious and diverse, thanks to geographical variety, a tropical climate, and the influence of many immigrant populations”[1], so for example a dish that meets all these characteristics is “Bandeja Paisa” from Antioquia department and surrounding regions, “it is based mainly on beans grown right there where climatic features make the country the biggest producer of the grain in the Andean region and recording more consumption in daily diet”[2]. This dish is found in all restaurants the country, and it is one of the first options that people offer taste as a typical food from Colombia.

Most surveys say that “Bandeja Paisa” is one of the best and most complete meals that have been identified in Colombia, besides it is an exquisite and delicious dish, the Bandeja Paisa includes:

Beans

White rice

Chicharrón

Ground beef

Sausage

fried egg

Ripe plantain

Avocado

Arepa

Another dish that has become a national symbol is “Tamal Tolimense” it is typical Colombian breakfast, it is found in the best restaurants in Colombia. The tamal is a dish made of corn dough, a filling from various meats, including beef, chicken and pig, some take a few peas or garbanzo beans, these ingredients should be cooked and used, then sauté with a little oil and onions and wrapped in banana leaves. In my opinion the “Tamal Tolimense” is the best dish in all aspects of ingredients, taste, appearance and exquisite. It is a dish that everyone should taste.

Finally, if you are going to visit Colombia and you want to know its his most famous recipes ask for these dishes so you will know the delight of this country through their flavors.

This beautiful place was found 18 years ago by “National Federation of coffee growers of Colombia” The park is located at the Department of Quindio more exactly on town of Montenegro, It’s 20 minutes from Armenia. The park was constructed by engineer Diego Arango Mora. The construction of this park is a tribute to the people workers of coffee. Few know that the Colombia coffee is produced by small family coffee that have been organized by the Federation. This place has the whole story about the coffee and this is intended for the preservation of cultural and historical heritage of coffee also to the promotion of recreational, ecological and ecotourism boost cultural activities in this Colombian región. The place has about 36 attractions to enjoy and learn, these are classified as mechanical attractions, theme and two spectacular shows. The climate here is tempered and is excellent for the whole tour of the park. You can find all information in the webside.

With the above I believe it is a wonderful place to visit, the reason is Colombian coffee because it’s the best coffee in the world, This says the National Federation of Coffee Growers. This is known worldwide under the brand “Juan Valdez” Also according to the website “Colombian Travel” coffee is the third most consumed in the world after water and tea drink. This is very interesting. I love the coffee since I went to this park. The park shows the whole process of production. Internet are many positive comments about the park, as Russell Coleman says “I came and I knew that the triangle coffee has it all”

In my experience three interesting and very fun attractions are the Gazebo, the roller coaster and the telesferico, these three things you can see all department of Quindio. This cannot be seen in any place of the world. Some interesting things in the park is the biggest roller coaster in Latin American. In this park you learn the entire process of Colombian coffee, nobody does this in any other way and also you eat foods made with coffee, these products cannot be made elsewhere in the world. Something interesting for kids is having a special event where they can have an experience of having a day job as a farmer, this is fantastic and fun activity for them. All recipes were created by Colombian. For this reason this food is typical and only from Quindio.

I believe accommodation here is distinctive and different beacuse I got up every day with a cup of coffee. In the morning the smell of freshly brewed coffee feels fresh and soft. Around the park there are many farms that have hotel service. Beautiful farm with typical architecture of colonization of Antioquia, they become one of the best lodgings of Quindio department and the coffee. I say that accommodations are different because in these places people make you feel as family of Juan Valdez. This is very funny and they make you feel inportant.

I think the park has different forms of recreation for the family, spreading the coffee culture, coffee process and the importance of the coffee guild, this helps us to know the economic development of our country, in a place with diverse landscapes besides this place provides the most fun attractions. This place is definitely fascinating many foreigners say that has beautiful landscapes Quindio also they talk about the excellent artisanal coffee, Colombian coffee production and products. It is definitely a good place to rest, relax and learn about the culture of Colombia and products recognized worldwide.

Encouraging tourism in Colombia in some places that some years ago people called red zones (arm violence), supporting the economic and giving another option is what I want to do with the following article. The situation in the country is difficult in many aspects and violence is a problem that separates us from some places that we think are very dangerous and we do not know when we want to give our opinion about where to go on vacation, experience different cultures, visit beautiful scenery like San José del Guaviare. Moreover I will describe and show you that it is worth visiting this place called “Capital of the Colombian hope.”

Guaviare, in its long history has always presented very high statistics of arm violence, according to the site1 these statistics are by the presence of Coca planting throughout the department. But in the last 10 years a significant 15% reduction of illicit crops is attributed to the actions that advancement the Colombian authorities like implementation strategies Alternative policy development1, this statistic according to the Interior Guaviare department. Moreover, this development has been an effort by the government but also of the people who want to change their lives and be recognized and be part of the evolution of Colombia with a better future for their future generations.

As a result, I would like to highlight an important project that is developing a significant portion of the population, It is a development of environmentally sustainable homes next to “Laguna Negra”2, a project that has caught the attention of the department and tourists are waiting to see it finished in a few months. This is a small example of the advances in tourism activities that are an important part of the economy now the capital of Guaviare.

Also, I want to point out the activities and sights that are currently and culturally important in this country. Nowadays, all places that are then, they are natural beauties that you should enjoy being there, the pictures are just a small part of that it are really. For example Wells Natural, are wells that offer spectacular landscapes and nature, different colored waters flow from through wells and subterranean caves, Stone Town: you could not imagine how big they are, their shapes and positions, it is amazing, Cave paintings, “They are big pictographys next to archaeological remains were made with pigments on the rock walls. It is estimated that the authors of Amazon cultures were people from 1,000 years Ago3 “. Finally although there are many amazing places, I want to reappoint “Laguna Negra”, it is a really wonderful place, a journey into the jungle watching bird diversity along a narrow road, and suddenly before you there is a very large pond, and a view to the horizon of all nature that surrounds it, after enjoying the view and taking pictures you can get into the water and swim in it.

I would like to describe more things that I felt and knew in that amazing place, but I want you to travel, you should go personally and think about our country, so you will talk about the good things and others on different places that are not common. And this can enrich several personal issues so that future generations can deliver to inheritance, in this case a valuable gateway to know the Amazon.

When people visit our country, people can see many spectacular places that they can not miss, one of them is the region of Antioquia, where you can enjoy very good tourist spots and exquisite typical food, as representing of Colombian delicacies that you can not pass up, you know which are dishes of the region, foods that compose this dishes and why are the dishes most representative of the region. First of all if you are going to visit this region, you have to try these dishes that stand by their smell, color and taste in this great place, Colombian pride. According to the book “Así es Colombia” where the coffee, bananas, maiz, beans, livestock, hunting and fishing are areas that generate wealth and bring development to the region and the country1. Furthermore when foreigners visit this region for the first time, second or even until third time, people can not resist the dishes like Bandeja Paisa where people can enjoy the chicharron, chorizo, beans, rice, avocado, egg, ground beef, fried plantain, arepa and hogao, it is impossible to forget the variety of flavors. Another typical dish is El Peto made of white sweet corn, cooked in milk and sweetened with brown sugar or cane sugar, then people can serve it with Calentado or Tamal antioqueño made from a delicious blend of ground corn, pork ribs, chopped bacon, potatoes, carrots, peas, pork, tomato and banana leaves that give a special flavor to this meal 2. Moreover people can enjoy large extent gastronomy these dishes are the result of a great effort in working the land, proper exploitation of its natural resources that people of Antioquia have to offer to the foreign people, these great dishes that nobody can stop eating and enjoying. For example, the Antioquia region has a population of 5,761,175 inhabitants, which 1,509,317 live in the rural areas, I mean, about 26% of them are really working the land3, the article also mentions the economic activity of workers, the 14.06% of gross domestic product represents the agricultural sector of Colombia4. Finally exports being made in agriculture like the potatoes, bananas and vegetables, and some products that stand out as bananas and uchuvas5. All in all we have great wealth that characterize each region of our country, and in my opinion and as I argue above Antioquia is a good option to get to know the most representative and famous foods in our country. References: